Bezalel Zini, an Israeli military reservist on active duty, is accused of smuggling 14 cartons of cigarettes in exchange for $117,000.

An Israeli court on Thursday indicted a brother of the chief of Israel’s security service for smuggling tens of thousands of dollars worth of cigarettes into war-ravaged Gaza Strip at a time when getting aid into the territory was difficult and many Palestinians were going hungry.

The brother of Israel’s security chief was arrested along with 14 others in a major police bust of an alleged smuggling ring accused of shipping crates of illegal goods into the Gaza Strip.

Three women from the first group of Palestinians to enter Gaza through the newly reopened Rafah crossing told The Associated Press that Israeli troops blindfolded, handcuffed and interrogated them for hours after they crossed.

By Steven Scheer JERUSALEM, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Israel's economy is expected to grow 4.8% in 2026 following a ceasefire in Gaza, after a 2.9% rate in 2025, but renewed regional tensions could limit growth,

COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, said in a statement that starting on Sunday a "limited movement of people only" would be allowed through the Rafah crossing, Gaza's main gateway to the outside world.

The military says that it carried out targeted strikes on “terror infrastructure” in the Gaza Strip after Israeli troops were fired at on Thursday. The Israel Defense Forces says that no soldiers were hurt by the gunfire in northern Gaza and accuses the operatives who shot at troops of a “brazen violation” of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.

By Alexander Cornwell JERUSALEM, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates has drafted plans to build a compound to house thousands of displaced Palestinians in a part of south Gaza under Israeli military control,